Opinion 

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Not a lot went right for Manchester City in their 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday night. Although goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma did well to save a Vinicius Jr penalty in the second half, he and his teammates were seemingly helpless to stop Federico Valverde from bagging an incredible hat-trick. “I had a feeling that we were better than the result said,” stated a dejected Pep Guardiola at full-time. “But the result is here. We have one week, and then we will see them at the Etihad.”

The Spanish tactician did try his best to turn the tie back in Man City’s favour in the second half, bringing on no less than four players from the bench and even pulling off Erling Haaland before full-time as he tinkered with his tactics. But one player that was curiously absent from the game as he watched it unfold from the bench was Phil Foden. Once considered Man City’s most gifted prospect, the England international has worryingly tumbled down the pecking order at Man City and now seems to be somewhat absent from Guardiola’s first-team plans. So what’s gone wrong for the academy graduate, and does he still have a future at the Etihad after this season?

A quick glance at Foden’s stats for this season really underlines how far he’s fallen from regular starter to benchwarmer at Man City. Over the course of the club’s last 10 games, the attacking midfielder has started just four and been an unused sub in three, while over the course of the entire season, Foden has started just 72% of Man City’s league games. Curiously, that number drops to just 56% in the Champions League, as evident from Wednesday’s no-show. These are all worrying numbers considering the midfielder has been relatively injury-free for most of the season.

This, notably, has coincided with Foden’s form in front of goal also nosediving. As we can see in the graphic above, the England international is currently averaging 0.50 goals and assists per 90 minutes in all competitions for Man City this season. That may be an impressive achievement for most attacking midfielders, but it’s a 16% drop from the previous season’s average of 0.60 per 90. Which, itself, was actually a 29% drop from a remarkable return of 0.84 goals and assists per 90 in the 23/24 season, which also happens to be the last time Man City won the Premier League title.

It’s hard to tell what came first – Foden’s struggling form or his diminishing presence in Guardiola’s starting XI – but there’s little doubt that the 25-year-old talent hasn’t benefited from the Man City manager shuffling his tactics this season and welcoming a number of new attacking faces to the squad. This season alone has seen the Etihad club spend €32 million on attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki and then €72m on right winger Antoine Semenyo. Two players that can and often do play in positions or areas of the pitch that used to be frequented by Foden. And before that Man City signed winger Savinho for €25m and second striker Omar Marmoush for €75m.

While every big club can only compete for major titles with substantial strength in depth in its squad, this influx of attacking and creative players has clearly crowded Foden out of the final third. The England international is often at his best in the No.10 position or playing directly off the striker, with the midfielder forming a formidable partnership with Haaland in previous campaigns. However, this season has seen Foden fill in across Guardiola’s team when necessity has called, and as a result, the midfielder has only provided two direct assists for his Norwegian counterpart. Which may explain why Man City’s towering striker is struggling in front of goal in 2026.

Whether Foden is suffering from a lack of confidence or is carrying a minor injury that hasn’t ruled him out entirely from games remains to be seen. But with a World Cup in the summer in which England will undoubtedly be expected to try and win, Foden’s diminishing status at Man City may become all too evident if England manager Thomas Tuchel opts for other options in the North American competition. After all, the midfielder has started just two of England’s last 16 games and has given very little indication that he deserves a starting role or perhaps even a spot in the wider squad at this summer’s World Cup.